Articles

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By Wan Saiful Wan Jan

16/08/09: This week (16 – 22 August 2009) is World Water Week. To mark this global event, the Malaysia Think Tank is publishing the report “Water Provision in Malaysia: Privatise or Nationalise?”. The report looks at what we can learn from the global successes and failures of water management. The aim of this report is to make clear that the priority for any public policy, including the management and provision of water, must be the general public good. Policymakers need to put in place the policy that is best for the public, not the one that best suits their personal, political or ideological agenda.

By Dr Helmy Haja Mydin

27/7/09: It is common knowledge that life as a junior doctor in Malaysian public hospitals is not a bed of roses despite the various improvements that have been put in place over the past few years. One of the most common complaints that can be heard is with regards to the lack of doctors. But it is less common to hear anyone mention about there being too many patients at hospitals.

By Wan Saiful Wan Jan

1 July 2009: The Erdogans in PAS must come up with a coherent reform agenda, or they will eventually be portrayed as having quietly admitted mistake and defeat. This will make it very difficult for others in the party to speak up for decades to come. The Erdogans will eventually become the latest evidence why speaking up in public is bad and does not work for PAS.

By Wan Saiful Wan Jan

16 June 09: It is only when these ‘jamaah dalam jamaah’ flourishes that PAS can benefit from a healthy competition of ideas. Let the internal groups compete in the open so that the party can then make an informed decision on what is the best way to proceed. This will push the party forward and make it a more credible political force.

By Keith Leong

4 June 2009: I have always had mixed feelings about PAS. The party has been painted as the ultimate bogeyman by the establishment media and pundits to my demographic group, often with general success. Incidents like their periodic campaigns against alcohol consumption and teenybopper music only served to heighten my discontent towards the brand of politics that they practiced.

by Wan Saiful Wan Jan

1 June 2009: I think the British royal family is far more transparent that the British parliamentarians. Their accounts are published annually and can be easily accessed on their official website. Perhaps one of the many Malaysian royal families can show leadership in this area, and publish their royal accounts first like what their British counterparts are doing.

My generation is often, with good reason, accused of not understanding the implications of history. It is not just an ignorance of the facts, but also an ignorance of the strong emotions that continue to be felt. While the government reminds us about 13 May on a regular basis, the much wider impact of the Malayan Communist Party’s campaign of terror is relegated. Yet the proposal to allow Chin Peng’s return has triggered a flood of angry responses from letters from descendants of victims and servicemen. One particularly moving letter asks: “Chin Peng, where is my father’s grave?”. My generation has no right to ignore their pain.

By Dr Helmy Haja Mydin

28 May 2009: The bickering amongst various stakeholders regarding the disbursement of JPA scholarships occurs as regularly as the eruptions of Old Faithful at the Yellowstone National Park. Arguments are often raised about who should receive the scholarships. The loudest are usually parents who decry the system for failing to provide their child with a scholarship that the child ‘obviously’ deserves.

4 April 2009

By Tunku 'Abidin Muhriz

“Reform or Die” is an oft-employed plea for organisations on the brink of defeat or irrelevance. The imperative has been invoked in ancient kingdoms, pre-modern empires, the United Nations (numerous times), and political entities around the world. Either of the oldest political parties in the world (either the British Conservatives or the US Democrats depending on which criteria you use) – have only managed to last until today because reform, fresh leadership and policy reorientations occurred at pivotal points in history – even if the ideological underpinnings remained constant.